CARL FRIEDMAN (1952) lives in Amsterdam and is one of Holland's most successful and distinctive female writers.

She is a poet, translator, columnist and highly acclaimed novelist.

nightfather (tralievader)

This is a Holocaust novel like no other. Written in a deeply affecting style mixing lightness with gravity, it captures not only the experience of the concentration camp, but also its powerful legacy, passed down to a new generation through the enormous bond of love that ties parent and child.

In forty brief chapters, the young daughter of a survivor tells of the efforts she and her two brothers make to try to bridge the gulf between themselves and their father that has been formed by his camp experiences.

Gradually, with accumulating force, the story of one man’s imprisonment and the terms of his survival are revealed.

'Friedman writes about the worst of human abominations without ever compromising her compassion or extinguishing her sense of hope… A shocking and touching first novel.' New York Times

'Like Anne Frank’s diary, it transcends genres… an extraordinary novel, written with passion, lucidity, and restraint.'Anne Whitehouse, The Foreword

'Carl Friedman is a born writer who evokes an entire and nuanced universe in a brief space. In Nightfather, she has succeeded in making art out of horror. This is an extraordinary novel whose skill matches its daunting subject.'Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Sales

Van Oorschot NL

Persea Books USA

Kiepenheuer Germany

Ernst Klett Germany (Annotated School Edition)

Denoel France

Sifriat Poalim Israel

Lagoudera Greece

La Giuntina Italy

Calima Spain

Szephalom Hungary

Text Russia

Landestheater Schwaben Germany (Theatre)

Material: finished copies (119pp) & various other editions including English language.

left luggage (twee koffers vol)

Chaja, who studies philosophy, is looking for more of a handle on life than books can give her.

Everyday she takes the toddler Simcha, an endearing outsider in an orthodox Jewish family, for his walk to the pond in the park to see his beloved ducks.

With an old friend of her father’s, Mr Apfelschnitt, she has hilarious conversations about the coming of the messiahs, while her father is himself looking for the suitcases he buried years ago.

The end is tragic, the scenes vivid and the characters strongly drawn. The film adaptation, LEFT LUGGAGE, directed by Jeroen Krabbe and starring Isabella Rossellini, was released in 1998.

'An exquisite and harrowing tale… Chaya’s troubles, both private and universal, resonate long after the end of this bewitching book.'Chicago Tribune

Sales

Van Oorschot NL

Persea Books USA

Kiepenheuer Germany

Denoel France

Sifriat Poalim Israel

Lagoudera Greece

La Giuntina Italy

Calima Spain

Szephalom Hungary

Text Russia

Material: finished copies (173pp) & various other editions including English language.

the grey lover (De Grauwe Minnaar)

This is a collection of three stories, each one stylistically distinct, each elaborating on elements of Jewish history and tradition.

The title story, THE GREY LOVER, recounts the strange fate of a man well past a hundred years old, the survivor of pogroms and a world war, whose similarly ancient wife has just died.

Grieving and too forgetful to be left alone, the man lodges with a couple who proceed to exploit him. He finds solace in dreaming encounters with his wife and in the company of an unusual soulmate: a frisky, young donkey - which leads to a starling end.

In HOLY FIRE, the second story and one as contemporary as today's headlines, Hans Levie, an ordinary Jewish boy from a small Dutch city, is transformed into a violent fundamentalist in Israel. His devoted parents watch helplessly while his growing fanaticism turns into criminal action.

In the powerful final story, BETTE, a daughter is torn between the love for her dying mother and her urge for a life that reaches beyond the lives of her parents, dominated by the Holocaust.

Sales

Van Oorschot NL

Persea Books USA

Kiepenheuer Germany

Denoel France

Sifriat Poalim Israel

Lagoudera Greece

La Giuntina Italy

Calima Spain

Szephalom Hungary

Text Russia

Material: finished copies (170pp) & various other editions including English language.